The Cyclones outscored the Horned Frogs 48-33 after intermission to break open their two-point halftime lead. Georges Niang had 23 points, including 17 in the second half, to lead the Cyclones. Monte’ Morris tallied 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Bryce Dejean-Jones made 5-of-6 shots en route to 16 points.
The Cyclones shot 56.4 percent this afternoon, improving their record to 12-0 when making over half of their shots from the field.
Iowa State ran out to a 16-9 lead to begin the game behind five points from Morris. ISU’s lead was short-lived, as the Frogs scored eight-straight points in under a minute to move ahead 17-16 with 10:18 left in the first half. Amric Fields and Brandon Parrish each hit 3-pointers for TCU.
TCU still held a 28-27 lead with under four minutes until half when ISU scored three-straight buckets (Morris, Dejean-Jones, Niang) to go ahead 33-28. Morris’ lay-in in the closing seconds gave ISU the 35-33 lead at the break.
Niang came out grooving after intermission. Niang tallied nine points in the first seven minutes to give the Cyclones a 12-point lead at 52-40 with 12:56 remaining.
A 7-0 TCU run, however, closed the gap to 52-47, but ISU answered with eight-straight points to increase its lead to 60-47 with under nine minutes remaining. Dejean-Jones started the run with a tough turnaround jumper in the lane.
TCU never got any closer than 13 points, as the Cyclones cruised to their 19th-straight victory in Hilton Coliseum.
Georges Georges Niang’s leadership, especially in the second half, gave the Cyclones a huge lift in their win today. Niang tallied 23 points en route to his 15th game with 20+ points in his career. It was just a two-point game at the half, but Niang tallied nine points in the first seven minutes to give ISU the separation it needed. Niang was 8-of-15 from the field and grabbed a team-high eight boards in the win. He tallied 17 of his 23 points in the second half.
The Cyclones travel to Kansas (Feb. 2) Monday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
